Community hospitals get £2bn boost

A new generation of up to 220 community hospitals and clinics will be built over the next

six years at a cost of between £1.1 and £2.2 billion in capital funding.

The money will be used to build or refurbish 30-60 community hospitals and 80-160 smaller units by 2012.

The impact assessment stated that the facilities would deliver integrated services to

serve populations of 50,000-100,000 patients.

Dr Phil Moore, chair of the Community Hospitals Association and a GP in Thames Ditton, Surrey, said the amount of

money offered was 'in the right ball-park'. He said: 'It sounds reasonable, but the devil is always in the detail. It gives me hope.'

Dr Neil Townshend, a GP in Broadway, Worcestershire, and chair of the management committee of Evesham Hospital, said he would prefer the money to have no strings attached, but it was better than nothing.